Most failures in leadership empathy trace back to a conversation someone avoided having. Authority is granted by the organisation; credibility in this strand of organisational leadership is earned separately. Work is grounded in real cases drawn from the wider organisational leadership agenda, which each participant adapts to conditions in their own organisation. What blocks progress on leadership empathy is usually unclear ownership rather than unclear intent. The programme is built to be used, and every section of this area of organisational leadership it covers ends in something applicable. Applied research in organisational leadership consistently shows that early structure around the organisational leadership discipline reduces downstream rework. The programme suits teams tackling leadership empathy together as readily as individuals attending alone. They leave able to brief senior management on this part of organisational leadership in terms that support a decision. The final session converts the week's work on the wider organisational leadership agenda into commitments with owners and dates.
Expected Learning Outcomes
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Recognise early indicators that leadership empathy is drifting away from its intended design.
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Establish escalation routes for leadership empathy that work outside normal hours.
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Set direction on leadership empathy that people can act on without further interpretation.
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Align the incentives of different functions so leadership empathy is not quietly sabotaged.
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Build the trust that makes candid feedback about leadership empathy possible.
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Build the internal capability for leadership empathy rather than depending on external support indefinitely.
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Manage the emotional load leadership empathy places on you and on the team.
Who Should Attend
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Team leaders responsible for daily delivery of leadership empathy.
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Specialists advising senior management on leadership empathy.
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Public sector managers applying leadership empathy within institutional constraints.
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Coordinators responsible for keeping records and documentation of leadership empathy current.
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Consultants coaching leadership teams on leadership empathy.
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Executives leading multi-function programmes involving leadership empathy.
Course Modules
Open any module to see its sessions and topics.
01
Leadership empathy: performance, standards and consistency
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Who answers for leadership empathy, and to whom
Anticipate the objections leadership empathy will raise and prepare the answers.
Recognise publicly one person whose work on leadership empathy went unnoticed.
Decide the point at which you would escalate leadership empathy.
Establish the boundary of leadership empathy and record what sits outside it.
Session 2What has to be agreed before work on leadership empathy starts
Give one piece of specific feedback on leadership empathy within the week.
Rank the weaknesses in leadership empathy by consequence rather than by ease of fixing.
Identify the conversation about leadership empathy you have been postponing, and schedule it.
Record the rationale for each significant choice made about leadership empathy.
02
Leadership empathy: setting direction people can act on
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Applying the standard on leadership empathy to your best performer
Decide what will be stopped to create capacity for leadership empathy.
Check whether incentives anywhere reward behaviour that undermines leadership empathy.
Agree what will be standardised in leadership empathy and what will not.
Establish who is informed, consulted and accountable in leadership empathy.
Session 2Reading the room before proposing leadership empathy
Collect evidence on the present handling of leadership empathy before proposing changes.
Decide what you will delegate on leadership empathy and what you will not, and say why.
Prepare how you will respond when leadership empathy is challenged publicly.
Rehearse the briefing on leadership empathy that would follow an incident.
03
Leadership empathy: influence across functions you do not control
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1The paperwork for leadership empathy that is actually needed
Identify single points of dependency in leadership empathy and reduce them.
State the outcome expected from leadership empathy in a single sentence anyone can repeat.
Identify which function can quietly block leadership empathy and address it directly.
Close out actions on leadership empathy rather than leaving them open indefinitely.
Session 2The meeting that finally unblocks leadership empathy
Set the review point at which leadership empathy will be reconsidered.
Benchmark the organisation's leadership empathy against comparable operations.
Set the decision rights on leadership empathy: who decides, who is consulted, who is told.
Test whether the team can explain leadership empathy in their own words.
